at Naharaim, however,
we know that he came into contact with the army of the enemy, which
was under the command of a single general--perhaps the King of Mitanni
himself, or one of the lieutenants of the "Cossaean King of Babylon"--who
had collected together most of the petty princes of the northern country
to resist the advance of the intruder. The contest was hotly fought out
on both sides, but victory at length remained with the invaders, and
innumerable prisoners fell into their hands. The veteran Ahmosi, son
of Abina, who was serving in his last campaign, and his cousin, Ahmosi
Pannekhabit, distinguished themselves according to their wont. The
former, having seized upon a chariot, brought it, with the three
soldiers who occupied it, to the Pharaoh, and received once more "the
collar of gold;" the latter killed twenty-one of the enemy, carrying
off their hands as trophies, captured a chariot, took one prisoner, and
obtained as reward a valuable collection of jewellery, consisting of
collars, bracelets, sculptured lions, choice vases, and costly weapons.
A stele, erected on the banks of the Euphrates not far from the scene of
the battle, marked the spot which the conqueror wished to be recognised
henceforth as the frontier of his empire. He re-entered Thebes with
immense booty, by which gods as well as men profited, for he consecrated
a part of it to the embellishment of the temple of Amon, and the sight
of the spoil undoubtedly removed the lingering prejudices which the
people had cherished against expeditions beyond the isthmus. Thutmosis
was held up by his subjects to the praise of posterity as having come
into actual contact with that country and its people, which had hitherto
been known to the Egyptians merely through the more or less veracious
tales of exiles and travellers. The aspect of the great river of the
Naharaim, which could be compared with the Nile for the volume of its
waters, excited their admiration. They were, however, puzzled by the
fact that it flowed from north to south, and even were accustomed
to joke at the necessity of reversing the terms employed in Egypt to
express going up or down the river. This first Syrian campaign became
the model for most of those subsequently undertaken by the Pharaohs. It
took the form of a bold advance of troops, directed from Zalu towards
the north-east, in a diagonal line through the country, who routed on
the way any armies which might be opposed to them, carryin